When Brothers Come Home Again:The God of Reconciliation Is Restoring What Was Split

I keep hearing this phrase in my spirit: “Bring the family home.”

Not as a slogan—as a burden.

Because I’ve learned something about the Lord: when He decides to heal a family, He doesn’t start with hype. He starts with hearts. He starts with holy hunger. He starts with that quiet moment when people who have lived “separate” for a long time suddenly feel the tug of the Spirit and realize, We were never meant to stay like this.

And right now, I believe that tug is on the wider Church of God family in Bulgaria.

For years there have been two streams—two organizations, two names, two histories: Българска Божия Църква (ББЦ) and Божия Църква в България (БЦБ). Many believers have known the separation. Some carried pain. Some carried questions. Some simply inherited it as “normal.”

But Heaven never calls division normal.

Because separation may feel organized, but it is rarely anointed.

The God who reconciles doesn’t just forgive — He reunites

The gospel is not simply that God tolerated us from a distance.

The gospel is that God closed the distance.

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18)

Reconciliation is not a side theme. It is the heartbeat of salvation.

God didn’t send us a memo—He sent us His Son.

God didn’t manage our brokenness from afar—He stepped into it.

God didn’t just erase guilt—He restored relationship.

And if He has given us the ministry of reconciliation, then reconciliation is not optional for mature believers. It’s not “nice when it happens.” It’s what happens when the Cross becomes more than theology—when it becomes culture.

Because when Jesus is truly Lord, pride cannot remain king.

October 2025: a clear step toward restored relationship

That’s why the joint national conference (October 9–11, 2025) matters.

It was publicly described as a first-of-its-kind joint conference between ББЦ and БЦБ with a stated purpose: restoring relationships between churches that, as the report notes, had once been one movement. The same report describes it as the fruit of a deliberate process and an important step toward renewed unity and cooperation. 

What stood out to many was the posture: the conference concluded with a covenant confession, the Lord’s Table, and foot washing. 

You don’t wash feet when you’re trying to prove you’re superior.

You wash feet when you’re trying to look like Jesus.

Because reconciliation isn’t a meeting. It’s a ministry.

In Scripture, the Church is not just described as an organization—it’s described as a body. And bodies aren’t meant to live with parts cut off, numb, and distant. When one part suffers, the whole body feels it. When one part is honored, the whole body rejoices (1 Corinthians 12:26). Unity is not a branding decision. It is a spiritual reality we are called to guard.

“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)

Notice the language: keep the unity of the Spirit. That implies unity is a gift from God, but it must be protected by humility, honor, and love.

A small personal note

In the midst of all this, I should add something small but personal: I’ve been present in some of these conversations, and in a modest way I’ve been a voice for reconciliation—not as someone “driving” the process, but as someone encouraging it, praying into it, and helping keep the tone pointed toward humility, honor, and the Lord’s heart. I was at meetings that helped propel the conversations forward, and what I’ve witnessed up close is simple: when people genuinely want Jesus more than they want to be right, unity stops being a theory and starts becoming a path.

January 19–21, 2026: continued alignment toward one umbrella

And then, early this year, the story didn’t stall—it advanced.

Between January 19–21, 2026, the two streams came together again in focused conversation—continuing what had begun, not letting momentum slip back into old distance. In that process, the group also received input and ministry from Rick Ciaramitaro of Canada connected with Ministers Network Canada, who serves with that network as an “Ambassador.” 

Out of those meetings, the direction has become clearer: it now appears that reconciliation—under one umbrella—may be formally realized in the summer of 2026.

And that matters.

Because reconciliation is not “a vibe.” It is a work. It is a Spirit-led rebuilding of trust. And trust is not cosmetic. Trust is what allows shared authority to flow without competition and without suspicion.

Recent gatherings in Stara Zagora: the process is still moving

And the story is not frozen in the past. It’s continuing in the present.

Even recently, gatherings in Stara Zagora (Стара Загора) have carried the same tone forward: not rushed unity, not forced unity—rooted unity. Step by step. Conversation by conversation. Prayer by prayer. This is often how God rebuilds trust: not with announcements, but with presence.

Because the Lord doesn’t just heal structures—He heals hearts.

And once hearts heal, structures can follow.

Irrespective of the reasons — the Cross remains the answer

Let me say this with clarity: the purpose here is not to reopen the case files of the past.

The most important part of the story is what God is doing now.

Because even if the reasons were complicated, the remedy is simple:

Jesus.

“For He Himself is our peace… and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” (Ephesians 2:14)

The Cross is God’s answer to separation—vertical and horizontal.

If God crossed the infinite distance between Heaven and earth to bring us home, then He can bridge what time, misunderstanding, strain, and human limitation produced among His people.

Reconciliation doesn’t require us to pretend nothing happened.

Reconciliation requires us to believe Christ is greater than what happened.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

In the Kingdom, reconciliation is not amnesia. It’s redemption.

It’s not denial. It’s deliverance.

And when the Church chooses reconciliation, it prophesies to the world that the gospel is not theory—it is power.

Unity is not just peace — it’s witness and spiritual weight

Jesus didn’t only pray for our personal holiness.

He prayed for our oneness.

“That they all may be one… that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21)

Catch that: unity is evangelistic.

The world does not only listen to our sermons. It watches our relationships.

And when the Church chooses humility over history, forgiveness over faction, and love over labels, the world sees something it cannot manufacture: a love that doesn’t make sense without Jesus.

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

And Psalm 133 is not poetic fluff—it’s a spiritual law:

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity… for there the Lord commanded the blessing.” (Psalm 133:1, 3)

God doesn’t just suggest blessing there.

He commands blessing there.

Unity becomes a landing place for commanded blessing—and that blessing is not merely emotional. It becomes authority in prayer, credibility in witness, and strength in mission.

Reconciliation always begins with humility

Reconciliation isn’t built on who spoke the loudest.

It’s built on who goes lowest.

That’s why the image of foot washing is so prophetic. 

It’s a declaration: “I refuse superiority. I refuse the throne. I choose the towel.”

And that’s Philippians 2 in motion:

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition… but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself… Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:3–5)

When leaders choose humility, spiritual atmospheres change.

Because pride fuels division, but humility starves it.

What reconciliation looks like in real life

Reconciliation isn’t a single emotional altar moment. It’s a lifestyle of choices.

It looks like:

• meeting again without weaponizing the past

  
  
  
  

• listening without preparing your rebuttal

  
  
  
  

• blessing what you didn’t build

  
  
  
  

• repenting without performing

  
  
  
  

• forgiving without keeping a receipt

  
  
  
  

• honoring without demanding agreement on every detail

  
  
  
  

• working toward shared mission, not shared control

  
  
  
  

And Jesus is blunt about priority here:

“If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you… first be reconciled to your brother.” (Matthew 5:23–24)

God is saying: Don’t sing louder to cover what you refuse to heal.

Reconciliation is not an accessory to worship. It’s part of worship.

What the summer of 2026 could represent

If this reconciliation is formally realized in the summer of 2026, that season can become more than an organizational adjustment.

It can become a prophetic sign:

• that Bulgaria’s Spirit-filled Church is maturing

  
  
  
  

• that the Lord is healing leadership culture

  
  
  
  

• that the next generation won’t inherit old fractures as “normal”

  
  
  
  

• that cooperation can increase without compromise

  
  
  
  

• that the nation can see a clearer witness

  
  
  
  

• that revival is not only fire in meetings, but the Cross in relationships

  
  
  
  

This isn’t about building a “super-structure.”

It’s about restoring a family table.

Because families don’t require sameness to be united.

They require love strong enough to stay at the table.

Prophetic declarations for reconciliation and unity

1. In Jesus’ name, we declare that the ministry of reconciliation will prevail over every spirit of division. (2 Corinthians 5:18)

   
   
   
   

2. We declare that the Lord will break down every wall of separation and establish His peace as our culture. (Ephesians 2:14)

   
   
   
   

3. We declare that humility will rise, pride will fall, and the towel of Christ will be chosen over the throne of self. (Philippians 2:3–5)

   
   
   
   

4. We declare that forgiveness will not be theoretical—it will be practiced, and healing will follow. (Ephesians 4:32)

   
   
   
   

5. We declare that unity will release fresh authority for evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual harvest in Bulgaria. (John 17:21)

   
   
   
   

6. We declare that the Lord will protect this process from gossip, suspicion, and sabotage.

   
   
   
   

7. We declare that what began as meetings will mature into alignment—church by church, pastor by pastor, heart by heart.

   
   
   
   

8. We declare that the next generation will inherit a healthier future—not old fractures, but a restored family table.

   
   
   
   

9. We declare Psalm 133 over these churches: the Lord commands blessing where brothers dwell in unity. (Psalm 133)

   
   
   
   

10. We declare that the summer of 2026 will be marked by courage, clarity, love, and holy cooperation, in Jesus’ name.